The Art of Rubato: The Musical Expression of Tempo
What you'll learn
- The history, purpose and intentions of rubato in music
- The four properties of rubato: direction, location, duration, and intensity
- The four qualities in music that rubato expresses (beauty, difficulty, surprise and importance)
- The five types of rubato (harmonic, melodic, structural, dynamic, and rhythmic)
- The three types of compound rubato (joined, nested, coinciding)
Requirements
- Some musical experience is helpful. Those with a little musical experience will gain from this course, while those with a lot of musical experience will gain even more from this course.
Description
Have you ever wondered why some music slows down and speeds up in certain places? You're not alone! Rubato is easily the most elusive subject within the realm of learning or teaching music. In fact, previously, rubato hadn't been broken down into a comprehensive set of simple, logical concepts that make it easy to use, analyze or teach. That's exactly what this course does.
With the help of over 140 examples of real performances, music professionals and amateurs alike will learn:
The purpose of rubato
The four properties of rubato (direction, location, duration, and intensity)
The four qualities of music expressed by rubato (beauty, difficulty, surprise, and importance)
The five types of rubato (harmonic, melodic, structural, dynamic, and rhythmic) and several subcategory types
The three behaviors of compound rubato (joined, nested, and coinciding)
(Bonus content) History, critique, and pedagogy about rubato
There is reason and logic behind everything we do in music. In The Art of Rubato, you will discover that rubato is no exception to this rule!
Those without much musical background will understand and gain a lot from this course, and those with a masters or doctorate in music will understand even more! Throughout the course, an occasional comment here and there may go over the amateur's head, but these detailed musical comments are never critical to understanding the most important, core principles.
"As a concert pianist, college professor and piano teacher myself, the issues surrounding the fluctuation of tempo are paramount and ubiquitous in my work, and I have given the matter a great deal of thought over the years. But until I was introduced to Chad's work, I had never considered rubato in quite such an organized way or, in fact, that something so subtle and sense-based was capable of being discussed in a thorough, rational, and insightful way." - Hans Boepple, Santa Clara University
"Ingenious!" - Joy Morin, piano teacher and author of Color in My Piano blog
Who this course is for:
- Music students
- Music teachers
- Performers
Instructor
Chad Twedt received a Masters in Music Performance in May 2001 from University of Nevada, Reno. From there he also graduated magna cum laude and received his two undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Music in Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. He was one of two recipients of the UNR Excellence Fellowship, and he received the 2005 Nevada Arts Council Fellowship Grant for the composing on his Ostinato CD. He was also one of two student recipients of the 1998 Sierra Arts Foundation Fellowship Grant, awarded based on his piano performance.